3 key projects remain unimplemented in Parwan

CHARIKAR (Pajhwok): Three important projects, including an industrial park, could not be implemented in central Parwan province due to land acquisition and funding issues.

The two other projects are the second Bagram-Jabus Saraj Road and a clean water supply scheme in Charikar, the provincial capital.

The mentioned projects could provide high value facilities to residents of Parwan if completed.

Industrial Park

The government added the Industrial Park in Parwan to its plan about seven years ago, but failed to resolve ownership claims of the project’s land by local residents.

Hamidullah Amiri, head of the land authority for Parwan, told Pajhwok Afghan News the industrial park, designed in 291 acres of land in Sanjid Dara area on the outskirts of Charikar, was added to the master plan in 2010.

Surveys launched in 2013 chose 143 acres of government land and 148 acres land of local residents for the project, he said.

The government is ready to provide each two acres of the land against 138,000 afghanis, but owners of the land demand more money, thus preventing the project from being implemented.

Parwan’s Deputy Governor Shah Wali said some local people, who claimed ownership of more land in the area could not create problems for the project because they lacked ownership documents.

He cited the lack of budget behind the failure to execute the vital project.

Parwan sectorial services director Mohammad Tahir Himmat said the industrial park would attract millions of dollars investment and create job opportunities for more than 50,000 people in Parwan.

Due its close location with the capital and having better security, the industrial park in Parwan would attract a large number of national investors, he said.

Local residents also realized the importance of the industrial park, but they stressed the government should purchase their land from them at reasonable price.

Haji Agha Khan, headman of Sanjid Dara village, talking on behalf of others, said the government could not differentiate between public and private lands.

He said local residents had ownership of more land than what the government was claiming. However, Khan did not provide any documents in support of his claim.

He said the government did not let local people build houses for themselves on their lands.

He said private land owners would also not let the government implement the industrial park project until they were paid more than 200,000 afghanis for each two acres.

When Russian forces invaded Afghanistan, people’s land in this area was forcibly grabbed to establish a military base. “So it does not mean the land belongs to the government,” Khan said.

Haji Ahmad Khan, another resident of Sanjid Dara, also said local residents had inherited the land from their grandfathers. He said the people also paid land tax to the government.

“The government should first buy our lands and then generate job opportunities for us, if it wants to build the industrial park here. Local residents should be hired at the industrial park, otherwise we would not allow the government to work here,” he said.

Second Bagram-Jablus Saraj Road

Provincial sectorial services head Mohammad Tahir Himmat said that a number of powerful individuals, who owned residential buildings and shops on the Bagram-Jablus Saraj road were preventing the road construction project in order their buildings and shops remained.

He did not name anyone, but said land properties of a number of people, located on the side of the road, had already been purchased but some powerful people were still not ready to surrender the property.

“Practical work on this project is yet to begin as some people do not sell their land properties and buildings located on the roadside to the government”, he added.

Himmat said construction of the 36 kilometers long would cost $30 million but the money had not procured so far. The narrowness of the current road causes traffic accidents and construction of the second road would help reduce mishaps.

Dr. Naqibullah, a Kabul resident who discharges duty in a private clinic in Charikar, said that he daily traveled on the road and witnessed traffic accidents almost on a daily basis.

He asked the government to launch work on the second lane of the road to resolve the problem.

Charikar Water Supply Network

This project will supply drinking water from Kuklami area of Salang district to Charikar through a 32-kilometers pipe.

Mohammad Nazir Azami, Charikar water supply head, said work on the water supply project was begun from the provincial capital about a month ago.

With financial support of $10 million from India, the project implementation faced opposition from residents of Massoud Township in Charikar, but the problem had been recently resolved.

He said residents of the township did not allow the water pipe to be passed beside or inside their houses.

Azami asked dwellers of Massoud Township to cooperate with the government in implementation of the project.

However, a number of the township residents said they would not allow the water pipe to pass in front of their houses.

Hamidullah, a resident of the township, said that one reason why people opposed the project was that people believed the government would not repair the road damaged for the pipe in front of their houses.

“Another reason is that these pipes would damage our trees and houses, it is also risky in future, for example if the pipe burst, it would submerge our house and we would have to escape,” he said.

However, he said people could allow the pipe to pass in front of their houses if the government assured them the project would not damage their properties.

Most of residents of Charikar currently use stream water and some consume wells’ water for drinking.

According to local officials, more than 80 projects worth more than $94 million are expected to be implemented in Parwan this solar year.